How to grow a tasty crop of tomato plants

California’s historic drought has folks discussing ways to curtail water use in the garden. But skip tomato growing season?

That’s crazy talk.

Tomatoes just aren’t as thirsty as Southern California gardeners — notorious for overwatering — think. By re-examining their choice of planting sites and irrigation methods, experts say folks could put a dramatic dent in water conservation and reap a bumper crop of plump, tasty tomatoes in all shapes, sizes, textures and colors to boot.

“Most people can cut 20 to 30 percent of their watering and still have the gardens that they want,” says Darin Engh, central regional manager for Armstrong Garden Centers, whose stores all host a free tomato basics class at 9 a.m. today for walk-ins.

Advertisement

From hardy hybrids to old-fashioned heirlooms with cheeky names, the plants will adapt to survive under the right conditions.

Tomatoes need to catch rays an average of six to eight hours a day, with heat-challenged coastal gardens requiring even longer durations of sunlight.

“You don’t need to cook them all day long,” adds Scott Daigre, founder of Tomatomania, the world’s largest traveling heirloom seedling sale, with stops at Tapia Brothers Farm Stand in Encino Friday to March 23, Surfas in Culver City on March 26, Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge on March 29-30 and more.

“It might be you can move your tomatoes to a spot that will not require as much water as they would under all-day sun,” Daigre said. “Maybe you can conserve water by moving your pots under a little bit of shade for a few hours a day. It does make a difference by the end of the season because that’s a lot less stress on the plant.

“We find that the ones that get a little bit of rest, they do better.”

Ideally, tomatoes conserve more water in a nutrient-rich, loamy garden bed than in containers. But container gardeners can save water by growing fewer, smaller, more productive varieties, using water-retaining granules and choosing a premium potting soil that won’t clump or shrink away from the sides, preventing water from ever reaching the roots.

As the season progresses, dressing the top of the container with potting mix or hand tilling the surface helps to catch water, allowing it to percolate down into the soil.

Placing the pot in a larger container or hiding it behind other plants keeps soil cooler, which in turn requires less frequent waterings.

Of course tomatoes need water to survive.

Turning lawn sprinklers toward the tomatoes isn’t as efficient as drip irrigation systems and soaker hoses. Sinking containers in the ground and then filling them with water is another effective way of soaking the roots of nearby plants — a practice that goes back centuries.

“Remember, the idea with tomatoes is you want to water deeply and infrequently; that’s the rule,” Daigre says.

A tomato seedling can go three to four days between irrigations. As the plant matures and the roots strengthen, it can go five to eight days before it needs water again.

The plant may look sad, but the fruit will be bursting with flavor.

Overwatering dilutes fruit.

“Many long-term gardeners still freak out a little bit when their tomatoes start to go downhill,” Daigre says. “The first response is usually water, but that’s not what they need.

“At least not what they need if you want great-tasting fruit and to save on H20.”